Bread-cutter.



G. KAWASAKI.

BREAD GUTTER. APPLIGATIN 4FILED 1330.7, 190s.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.I

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abbot/weg I G. KAWASAKI. BREAD ummm. APPLICATION FILD DBG. 7, 1908.

937,611. Patented 009191909.

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G. KAWASAKI.

BREAD 4 GUTTER. APPLIoATloN FILED Dnc. 7, 1908.

A 937,611. Patented ocn.19,19o9.

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m0 @mm1/Lto@ WZ g55/@ j JW @Mh GORO KAWASAKI, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

BREAD-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

Application led December 7, 1908. Serial No. 466,308.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, GroRo KAWASAKI, citi- Zen of Japan, residing in thecity and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Bread-Cutters; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bread cutters, my object beingto provide a device of this class adapted to cut an entire loaf of breadinto slices of any desired thickness, by -a single downward stroke ofthe knife carrying frame. This frame is spring supported, so that aftereach downward stroke the knife carrying frame is automatically returnedto its upward position. The casing is so shaped that the knives move.downwardly in a direction inclined to the vertical, whereby they actupon the bread more advantageously than if the direction of the movementwere absolutely vertical, since the blades while passing through thebread have a sort of shearing action, as they move simultaneously bothhorizontally and vertically. l

The series of knives, with which my improved cutter is equipped, isslidably mounted upon bars which the blades are apertured to receive. Byvirutue of this arrangement the knives may be so adjusted as to cut thebread into slices of any desired thickness. The knives when properlyadjusted are held in such position by slotted gage plates, applied totheir opposite eX- tremities adjacent to the bars upon which they aremounted. The various knives enter the slots of the gage plates, wherebythe knives are properly spaced, as heretoforeA stated. A number of setsof gage plates, each set having spacing slots arranged at differentdistances, should accompany each device so that the thickness of theslices of bread may be varied as desired.

The device is further equipped with a slotted cover or housing in whichthe loaf of bread is inclosed during the cutting operation, the slots inthe housing being arranged to coincide with the position of the variousbread cutting blades. This slotted housing lits the loaf of bread quiteclosely, whereby the latter is supported and prevented from changing itsshape during the bread cutting act.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed todescribe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure l is a vertical section taken through my breadcutter. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, or a view looking in thedirection of arrow 2 Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of theknives or blades, the same being broken away between its extremities.Fig. l is an end view in detail of the slotted housing. In this view thesaid housing is shown in two positions, one being in full lines, and theother in dotted lines. In the full line position the housing is shownwith its edges detached from the base of the casing, the spring tensionor elasticity of the housing being sufficient to cause its edges tospring away from each other; while the dotted lines indicate the normalposition of the housing when in use. This view is on a smaller scalethan Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the slotted gageplates. Fig. 6 is an end view of the bread cutter shown on a smallerscale than in Figs. 1 and 2, the hinged upper portion of the easingbeing closed. Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on thedotted line 7 7 Fig. 1 and partly broken away.

The same reference characters indicate. the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 indicate a casing provided with a base 6 havingparallel walls 7, inclined at a suitable angle, the said walls beingintroduced between the baise and a vertical top portion 8 of the casing,to which is hinged, as shown at 9, a cover 10.

Suspended from the top portion of the casing by means of spiral springs12 is a knife-carrying frame provided with parallel longitudinallydisposed bars 13, upon which is slidably mounted a number or series ofbread cutting knives 14, the extremities of the knives being aperturedto receive the bars, the latter being polygonal, preferably square, incross section. There are four springs 12, one being located at eachcorner `of the casing (see Fig. 2). The upper eX- tremities of thesesprings are connected with the upperl part of the casing, as shown at15, while their lower extremities are yconnected with the knife holdingbars 13. The bars 13 are connected by two bow-shaped members 16, each ofthe said members being connected with the bars at one end of the casing,the said members being upwardly bowed from the bars, whereby theyproject Vout of the casing when the cover is open. The upper portion ofthese bars is connected by a longitudinally disposed bar 17 forming .asort of handle for manipulating the blade-carrying frame, theextremities of the handle bar being connected with the bow-shapedmembers by suitable fastening devices 18.

To the opposite extremities of all of the blades 14, gage plates 19 areapplied, the said plates having slots 2O formed upwardly from theirlower edges, to receive the knife blades to which they are applied fromabove. These slots are spaced according to the thickness of the slicesto be cut when the device is in use. When applied to the blades thelatter are, of course, spaced to correspond with the distance betweenthe slots. These gage plates also strengthen the blades, which arepreferably formed comparatively thin, their cutting edges being shapedto facilitate the performance of the cutting function. It is preferredthat each device shall be equipped with several extra sets of gageplates having slots 20 located at different distances apart, so that thebread may be cut in slices of diiferent thickness, as

circumstances may require.

In the lower part of the casing, or that having inclined parallel sidewalls 7, is located a housing 21 having the general shape of a loaf ofbread 22, the lower edges 23 of the housing being inserted in slots orgrooves formed in the base 6 of the casing. This housing is providedwith a series of slots 24 which extend downwardly to approximately theupper surface of the base 6 of the casing. Slidably mounted upon thebases 6, and within the slotted housing, is a board or plate 25, havingslots 26 in its upper surface adapted to receive the cutting edges ofthe knives which, as shown in the drawing, have a wave-like shape, tofacilitate the performance of the cutting function, as heretoforeexplained.

When a loaf of bread is to be cut by the use of my improved device, theplate 25 is removed from the housing and the loaf placed thereon, aft-erwhich the loaf is inserted in the housing by sliding a plate to itsposition. During this time it will be understood that the knife-carryingframe is at its upper position where it is yieldingly supported by thespiral springs 12.

It is assumed that the loaf of bread isapproximately of the same lengthas the slotted housing, and that it will be cut into as many slices Iasthel device has blades. This, however, is not necessary, since arelatively short loaf or even a part of a loaf may evidently be cut bythe use of my improved device if desired.

From what has already been stated it will be understood that after theloaf is in place, it is only necessary for the user to grasp the handle17 and press downwardly thereon, whereby the knife-carrying frame iscaused to descend and the blades to pass throughthe loaf which is formedinto slices of the desired thickness. By virtue of the slots 26 formedin the upper surface of the plate 25 upon which the loaf rests, thecutting edges of the knives are caused to pass completely through theloaf.

It is also to be understood from the preceding explanation, that theblades when acting upon the loaf are moving downwardly in a directioninclined to the vertical, thus facilitating the performance of the breadcutting or slicing function. As soon as the loaf of bread has been cutin the manner aforesaid, the user. ceases to press downwardly upon thehandle 17 kand allows the knife-carrying frame to moveupwardly inresponse to the recoil of the springs 12. After the loaf of bread hasbeen cut into slices and the knife blades have been returned to theirupper position, as has just been explained, the sliced bread may beremoved from the slotted housing by sliding the plate 25 out of thehousing endwise, one

end of the casing being open for 'the purpose (see Fig. 6). Y

From what has already been explained it will be understood that when thegage 19, which is applied to the blades for holding them in properrelation for Ycutting the bread into slices of predeterminedthickness,are changed in order to cut slices of a different thickness, it willalso be necessary t0 remove the slotted housing and introduce anotherhousing in harmony with the `gage plates, and the new arrangement of theknives, since the slots in the loaf housingV must of course coincide asto position Vwit-h the arrangement of the bread cutting blades. Underthe same circumstances, the plate 25 must be changed for another havingslots properly spaced.A

To facilitate the entrance of the knives into the slots 24 of thehousing, the upper extremities of these slots are slightly enlarged,giving them a V-shaped appearance, as shown at 27. By virtue of thisconstruc-y tion, the blades may vary slightly from accurate alinementwith the slots .24 and still enter the slots, as will be readilyunderstood.

When the device is not in use the cover 10 may be thrown to the closedposition, as shown in Fig. 6, whereby the mechanism within the casing isprotected from injury and also from the entrance of dust and dirt.

l suitable fastening device 28.

The slotted housing 21 is preferably formed from a plate of spring metalwhich is normally adapted to assume the position indicated by full linesin Fig. el, whereby its lower edges are so separated that when thehousing is compressed on opposite sides to bring it to the dotted lineposition in Fig. t, or to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6, itwill be under such tension that when its lower edges 23 are inserted inthe slots in the base of the casing, these edges will have a tendency tospring outwardly, thereby holding the housing securely in the casing.This tendency may be overcome by pressing upon opposite sides of thehousing, in which event it may be easily removed from the slots whichits lower edges engage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a knife-carrying frame mountedtherein, springs for supporting the frame in the upper portion of thecasing, said frame having separated bars, knives having their extremities apertured to fit said bars, the knives being loose on the bars, anda slotted gageplate, adapted to receive the upper edges of said knives.

2. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a spring-supported,knife-carrying frame mounted in the casing, said frame having separatedbars, knives having their extremities apertured to fit the bars, beingfree to slide thereon, and a gage-plate slotted to loosely engage saidknives, the upper edges of the blades entering the said slots.

3. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a spring supported, knifecarrying frame, spiral springs for supporting the frame in the upperportion of the casing, the frame having parallel separated barspolygonal in cross section, knives having their extremities apertured tofit said bars, and a slotted gage-plate adapted to loosely engage theupper edges of a series of knives, whereby the latter are spaced for thepurpose set forth.

4. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a frame mounted in the casing,spiral springs for supporting the frame in the upper portion of thecasing, the said frame having separated bars, knives having theirextremities apertured to fit the bars, and two slotted plates adapted torespectively engage the opposite extremities of the series of knives,substantially as described.

5. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a spring-supported frame mountedtherein, the said frame having parallel, separated bars, knives havingtheir extremities apertured to fit said bars, gage-plates slotted toreceive the upper edges of all of the knives, and a slotted housinglocated in the casing and occupying a position below the knives, whenthe latter are at their upward limit of movement.

6. A bread cutter comprising a casing, a knifecarrying frame mountedtherein, spiral springs for supporting the frame in the upper portion ofthe casing, the said frame having parallel, longitudinally disposedseparated bars polygonal in cross section, knives having theirextremities apertured to fit said bars to vary the space between theknives, slotted gage plates adapted to receive the upper edges of theknives, and a slotted housing located in the casing and occupying aposition below the knives when the latter are at their upward limit ofmovement, the slots of the housing coinciding as to position with theknives, the housing being shaped to conform to the general shape of aloaf of bread, which the housing is adapted to receive, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GORO KAl/VASAKI.

lVitnesses A. J. OBRIEN, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

